Monday, October 20, 2014

DEAD WITHIN: AN INTERESTING TAKE



The zombie holocaust seems to be taking over horror films these days. It seems like there is a new zombie movie being released each week. Where THE WALKING DEAD led the way for this new increase in interest in the genre, the knock offs have been nothing more than excuses for an over abundance of gore and lack of story telling. That's not true with DEAD WITHIN.

Rather than take the characters involved in the story out into the world to watch them battle zombies we instead centralize the story to take place in their home, fortified and made safe to prevent being attacked. Located in the woods a stone's throw from civilization, Mike and Kim have been holed up in their cabin for 6 months. The only time away from one another is when Mike heads out to salvage for supplies to keep them alive.

What makes this different from most zombie flicks today is that it focuses on the couple and not the zombies. Sure there is a zombie fight tossed in when we see flashbacks to another couple that visited and turned at some point but the main concept here is the couple. What makes it even more interesting is that you begin to wonder as it moves forward if there really is a zombie attack going on or did Mike make Kim believe this in order to keep her to himself in the cabin? Or could it just be that Kim has gone insane?

The answers to these questions come up before the credits role but the journey to that point makes for an interesting film. No one usually takes into account the problems that survivors would face on a day to day level and when they do it's always a quick flash and then back to action. Here we see a couple trying to live off of what they can find and some times that means sharing a single can of peaches for your only meal that day. Not only that but the only person each of them has contact with day after day each other. That's got to take its toll after a while.

Things slowly begin to spiral downward. When Mike is gone for longer than usual, while at the same time a group of wolves approaches the house, things become tense. If that weren't enough Kim begins to reveal more of the story of what went down with their friends as well. What we see here is less a tale of survival and more a story of a woman's descent into madness.

While I doubt I'll watch this again it was interesting the first time around. It kept me watching until the end and offered a new view of the whole zombie genre that many never seem to consider. If you're a fan of the genre of or horror films in general I'd recommend watching it. It might not be one to keep on the shelf but it's worth one viewing at least.

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